The quotes of good friends

One does not need to be a famous (or Fantasy) author or a celebrity to say things that are worthy of being quoted. Indeed, I have always found the best quotes come from the part of us that is most connected to the human spirit, when we are thinking about the world and what it is to be human, for that is when Fantasy, the Spirit of Tolkien, links with each and every one of us. Why? Because while escapism may be the beating heart of the Fantastic, humanity, an examination of what it means to be human through adventure, are the lungs. Here are a series of quotes from personal friends of mine, posted by them on Facebook and then saved by me. (Naturally I have omitted their last names.)

"Humans are good. Some people are evil, and because of that we are forced to feel pain and anger and sadness. Some people will hurt us, try to break us and destroy us from the inside out. But that will never happen, because some people are not all people. Our humanness, the part of us that loves and feels and cares and defends, cannot be broken. That part of us is the human, and that part will always be good." - Sierra

"Tell people you love them as often as you can whenever you genuinely feel it." - Ali

"It's a great feeling when your favorite books touch places that you know, but we need to think about what these and other stories are teaching us with their silence. The stories we tell, fictional and non-fictional, curate the ways we imagine. Since history is at its heart story-telling, the limits of our imagination become the limits of our historical curiosity and compassion." - Sophie

"The point of the hero defeating the dragon isn't that dragons exist, it's that the dragon can be defeated." - Ag 

"It's okay if your best is 80% one day, and 40% the next. It's okay to waver. If we performed our best every day, there would be no room for growth, or observation, or pauses in the interim of, simply, living. We wouldn't be able to stop and remember to love what is around us." -Ali

"Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations." - Rachel

"The march of all of human history has no brakes, especially not for people trying to throw it into reverse." - Ben

"Don't worry about how your writing turns out, you will have all the time in the world to fail, fail again, fail harder, and learn to become better. Enjoy the transformation." - Lindsay

Patience does not always mean the waiting is meaningless. Patience is learning that the waiting actually has purpose." - Ali

"If you are feeling discouraged, distraught, confused, concerned about humanity, go spend some time talking to kids. You will see that hatred is a learned trait. Take control of that learning, because these kind and strange little geniuses are everything." - Violet 

"Respect is not handed to you just because you are older or more experienced. Respect is earned. The only thing I'll give you for free is the benefit of the doubt." - Eli

The left is a quote from my friend Maggie, and the right one was my reply.
This was, like the others, was part of a facebook conversation,
one I liked it so much I made this image out of it.